


Pride

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Kisses [2]
Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: F/F, Girls Kissing, Heist, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 16:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19872886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: There's nothing Lou likes more than watching Debbie at her very best.





	Pride

There is a little bit of a thrill in the air. There always is in the run up to a big job, and goddamn but it feels good again. Honestly Lou hadn’t realised how much she’d missed it. They’ve assembled quite the team, and now it’s finally time for the briefing. This is the last chance for anyone who decides they want out to get out, and Debbie has been preparing all morning. They’ve got the 3D printed model of the museum ready, they have the screen and the projector and the slick little movie Debbie put together, and this is the first time any of the others are going to meet. Lou’s pretty excited herself, but more than anything really, she’s excited about watching Debbie do her thing. 

Of course, it went without saying that she was perfectly capable of getting by on her own. She managed before Debbie, and she managed after Debbie. Or, okay, maybe not after Debbie so much as when Debbie was away, because really… it felt inevitable that they were always going to end up back together one way or another, like some gravitational pull they couldn’t ignore. Either way this is still exciting.

One of the reasons they’d ended up running together in the first place was that two people could pull off much bigger jobs than just running alone. Even leaving their undeniable attraction out of it, the two of them complemented each other in a lot of ways. They had different skillsets, and one of Debbie’s major strengths had always been in planning more complex jobs. She could see the way the pieces moved and how things fit together. Some of the things they’d managed to pull were things she’d had in the works for years but needed a reliable partner for, and before Lou she hadn’t had one of those. It had taken some time before she was really willing to trust the blonde, and Lou could understand that. In this business trust was everything, hard won and easily lost, because the consequences could be so dire. When things had finally started to work though, it had been a whirlwind in the best way, and as much as she hated to admit it, Lou found Debbie Ocean pretty addictive.

There had been a little uncertainty in her gut coming up to Debbie’s release, although she’d done her best to ignore it, and a little wave of trepidation had washed over her when she got that text and had to make a choice about whether to get sucked back into that life. Subconsciously she’d always known it wasn’t really going to be a choice. It wasn’t that she’d follow Debbie blindly, it was just that they belonged together, and in a lot of ways she’d rather be in a shitty situation with Debbie than rolling along just fine without her. There had been a lot of unknowns about Debbie coming out, and Lou had done her best to prepare for those. What she hadn’t expected, however, was for Debbie to come out with a plan. 

It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, she knew how Debbie worked, knew that she would have needed something to distract herself in prison, but this… this was on a whole other level. 

Really, Lou’s just been trying to keep a lid on her pride. 

Debbie is the fireball, the phoenix rising from the ashes, the bright flashes of brilliance that need a steadying hand to take through to fruition. She’s not entirely without her feet on the ground, but Lou knows that the reason they work at all is because she’s there to counterbalance both Debbie’s brilliance and her neuroses. It’s one of the oh-so-many ways they fit together, and Lou is fiercely proud of her, of the way Debbie has come out after six years in prison, after having her heart broken, after… that whole mess they’re trying to leave behind, and come out fighting. She doesn’t just have A plan, she has the biggest plan they’ve ever tried to pull off, and Lou has yet to find a hole in it. 

This is a ragtag crew in some ways, but they’re all the best, and actually Lou is quite enjoying working surrounded by women for a change. Nobody ever talks about the gender imbalance in the criminal underworld but… hey, doesn’t mean it isn’t an issue. 

Amita’s first to arrive, staring around with a little bit of trepidation. She’s not unfamiliar with the world they live in, the circles they run in, but most of the work in the old days hadn’t been dealing with her directly and Lou gets the feeling this is her first big job. Hell. Lou’s still pretty proud of the club really. 

Nine Ball’s on her heels, big hair, big hat, big glasses, and Lou is really starting to warm to her as a character. There’s a certain kind of balls needed for this work, and Nine seems to have them in abundance. 

Constance is next, squirrelly about being inside a building and projecting a confidence Lou knows she doesn’t feel. 

Tammy is scanning the place, taking in the details, and she’s the old friend here, the one they know they can trust when it comes down to brass tacks. Sure, this is basically coming out of retirement, but Tammy was one of the best before and they’ve no reason to think that’s changed. Society has a lot of ways to trick women into believing that they lose their skills on motherhood, but Lou sees no reason to believe that’s the case and she’s hoping this convinces Tammy too. 

Rose is last, and Rose has probably never looked comfortable in her own skin, let alone coming into the back room of a warehouse club near the docks, but Lou’s fairly confident that buried beneath an admittedly very thick layer of candy floss and marshmallow is a core of steel that will come through for them when they need it. 

The ladies file in, and Lou flicks a look across the room to Debbie, who is standing there in black from head to toe, in elegant ankle boots with stiletto heels and black skinny jeans that hug the curves of her thighs and make her ass look amazing, in a black silk shirt that’s not quite buttoned up with the sleeves folded halfway up her arms, making the whole thing casual, effortless elegance. Her hair is cascading around her shoulders, as she walks past Lou catches a whiff of her perfume, and her eyeliner is on point. Debbie Ocean has always been a creature of sophistication, and now that she’s back out of prison, she can finally be herself again. 

Honestly Lou’s pretty sure she’s just gotten hotter with age, and she’s loving every minute of it. 

She shoots Debbie a look, taking in every gorgeous inch of her from head to toe, and then saunters off towards the side of the room, leaving Debbie with the floor and the parting words:

“Okay everyone, let’s get started…”

Debbie shoots her a look under her lashes, and Lou grins. She has no interest whatsoever in hiding what’s between them. It’s not like anyone here is the judgemental sort, and really, Lou doesn’t give a single solitary fuck about people who are. It’s not difficult to appreciate just how amazing Debbie is, and Lou’s kind of been enjoying the opportunity to do just that since she got back. As fun as the physical side is, though, it’s always been about more than that. This is about her girl, doing what she does best.

“We would like to present you all with a… hypothetical situation.”

Debbie has a small smirk resting on her lips, a little smug, a little self-satisfied, and hot as fuck as she takes control of the situation. It comes as naturally to her as breathing. 

“How hypothetical?”

That’s Amita, probably the closest the group has to someone lawful good. Lou’s pretty sure Rose counts as chaotic. 

Lou shrugs, glancing across at her. 

“Not very, unless we screw up.”

Amita doesn’t look hugely comforted by that, as Debbie hits the button to move the projector on and Lou grins, flicking her lighter for something to do with her hands. She’s always been a kinaesthetic type of person, finding it easier to focus if she can fiddle with something. It’s a tic. Fortunately the physical side of things has never been a problem with Debbie. For now, Lou’s just sitting back to enjoy the show. 

“Sixteen point five million dollars in each of your bank accounts, five weeks from now.”

That’s got their attention, and Lou is back to watching Debbie, occasionally glancing at the rest of the room. She’s not a lovestruck teenager. She’s too old and too cynical for that, but there’s something captivating about Debbie at her best, at her most brilliant, her most in control, her most charismatic that even after years of exposure Lou still isn’t quite immune too. She also likes watching the effect Debbie has on other people. 

There’s a low whistle, and Debbie continues, knowing the room is in the palm of her hand, knowing she’s entirely in control. 

“In three and a half weeks, the Met will be hosting its annual ball celebrating its new costume exhibit, and we are going to rob it. Not the ball itself, but a very important set of diamonds that will be attending the ball.”

“On the neck of Daphne Kluger.”

“Who Rose will be dressing.”

They haven’t rehearsed it, but it flows like they have because they’re in sync already. Lou knows how to watch Debbie, how to read her, knows all the little things about how she moves and breathes and talks, her little tics and tells, the way she feels, the way she melts when she’s tired, the way her breath hitches and her eyes go dark when she’s turned on, the way she shudders with that little breathy moan that’s the most beautiful sound in the world when she comes. They’re a team. They’re equals, really, it’s just that there are some things Debbie is that little bit better at, and there are plenty of things Lou handles instead. 

“The Toussaint?”

Amita again, and Lou is a little bit impressed, and she can hear the note of satisfaction in Debbie’s voice as she answers. 

“Very good. Once Daphne is inadvertently on board we can get the necklace out of the Cartier vault, hack the Met’s security system – thank you Nine Ball – and infiltrate the gala, considered to be one of the most exclusive-“

“/The/ most exclusive,” Lou cuts in, because she doesn’t want any aspect of this plan undersold. It’s brilliant. It’s one of Debbie’s best, and she wants them all to understand just how good it is.

“The most exclusive…” Debbie purrs, glancing at her with that grin, that little half-hitch of her lips that promises Lou a reward worth having later, “Party invitation in America. So go home, get your affairs in order, because tomorrow we begin pulling off one of the biggest jewellery heists in history.”

She’s been pacing her way around the room as she talks, predatory, panther-like, nothing nervous about it at all, and as she finishes she sits on the edge of the stage and the light of the projector is dancing over her skin. There’s a beat, and then she looks straight at Lou, and fuck but at that moment there is nothing Lou wouldn’t do for her, and she has no interest in keeping that off her face. 

She’s braced, elbows on knees, playing with her lighter, knowing the way the flame catches the curves of her breasts disappearing beneath her waistcoat, mouth open and knowing she looks like she wants to eat Debbie alive. Really, it’s not far off, and the way Debbie’s looking straight back at her makes that pretty obvious. 

Lou glances over the rest of the gang, gauging reactions, and she can see Tammy’s intrigued, but she also wants to roll her eyes at how blatant Lou and Debbie are being. Rose looks much like she always does, as does Nine Ball, although the two of them are polar opposites. Constance’s leg is twitching, but she looks pretty cheerful, and Amita is torn between moral concern and a wistful sigh. 

The plan’s set out now though, and after a moment’s pause for the spell Debbie’s woven around all of them to break, the chairs start scraping back against the floor and Lou takes a moment to really drink in the sight of Debbie all over again before she pushes herself up from her comfy spot on the side. 

She saunters over, making it effortless, watching the way Debbie’s watching her, feeling her eyes burn. There’s never been anything degrading or uncomfortable about the way Debbie undresses her with her eyes, and that’s because she knows exactly what’s underneath. It’s just a very prolonged form of foreplay, that’s all. 

Lou comes to rest in front of her, crowded right up close with one hand either side of Debbie’s hips, bracing her on the stage, and they’re almost but not quite nose to nose. There’s an electricity in the way their breath is mingling together and Debbie smirks, just a little bit. 

“…Did I do okay?”

Lou laughs, leaning in to kiss her because it’s been one long slow dance already and it’s time to take it up a notch, even if bed is still a long way off. She enjoys the heat between them, the slow stoking of the fire, just like she loves the taste of Debbie’s lips and the way they part beneath hers. 

Lou’s always been about gestures more than words, the physical side of things comes easier to her, and right now she’s just fiercely proud of the woman she loves and she wants everyone to know about it. 

She can hear the wolf-whistle in the background as if it’s miles away, and the abrupt cut-off she suspects is Tammy’s doing, but she’s too busy focusing on the interplay of lips and tongue and teeth until she breaks off, leaving Debbie just that little bit breathless, chest heaving that little bit fast, eyes blown wide the way that means Lou did her job right. 

“…That’s my girl.”

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCIbCqW8pQ4 partially inspired by this which was one of the first O8 fanvids I watched about a year ago. After the moments in Better To Burn where there was a lot of mutual admiration and... not quite lust, I wanted to do something that just focused on how much pride Lou takes in Debbie. I figure it's mutual, but it means a lot to Debbie, and sometimes it's fun to show her.


End file.
